Job hunt: cover letters

[stacer]

You guys have no idea how bad I am at selling myself. When it comes to anything besides writing about myself to impress a prospective employer, I'm fine. But when it comes to this, I freeze.

So, does anyone with a better ability to sell themselves (wow, that doesn't sound good, does it?) want to look at my cover letters and tell me what I'm doing wrong, maybe suggest things I should say instead? It just doesn't look right, as I have it now. It feels like it should be a whole lot simpler than it is.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Ooh! i just finished a whole chapter in my technical writing textbook dedicated to resume cover letters. Bwahaha. I'll read it.

[stacer]

I don't believe I have your email.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Tiny details.

PMed you.

[stacer]

Thanks to all who helped. You gave me some *really* good suggestions. It'll be so much better now.

[Mistress of Darkness]

Fuzzy, would you mind giving any general suggestions for cover letters? My husband is currently searching.

[fuzzyoctopus]

Well after seeing what Fellfrosch gave stacer, my suggestion would be to have him write Steve's cover letters!

Seriously though;

The biggest thing my book emphasizes is to be terse and straightforward in your sentences - avoid flowery "letter" sounding sentences.  Avoid phrases like, "I believe my skills would be an asset to your company." Instead say, "I have skills in X, Y, and Z which will be an asset to your company."  "I will be a successful manager because..."

Other stuff is basic - avoid passive tense, be specific about experience and why you'd be best for the job. Ask for an interview in the closing paragraph and give a phone number.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Buy my dads book, sure its sort of military oriented but it has great interview advice and information on writing resumes... . Its based off of the lectures he's been giving military officers for years about getting out of the military. The neat part is that like folks just getting into the workforce, military people are just as clueless. We never have to do resumes,... or any type of work like that... So I think its a nice resource... Plus its a shameless plug...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0759340641/qid=1109811812/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-7192211-6983901?v=glance&s=books

[Peter Ahlstrom]

Well, I for sure never got anywhere with my cover letters. Well, okay, I think I did get one interview via nothing but cover letter and resume, while I was in New York.

I definitely hope to keep working with my current company for a long, long time.

[stacer]

Yeah, I just don't want to sound like an idiot in my cover letters. I'm trying to work the contacts angle, but Susan Chang hasn't written me back. I have a couple other contacts I'm going to email today. But I'm also just going to send out lots of resumes, too. Cover both ends.

[Fellfrosch]

That should be easy, Ookla, since everything your company does takes a long, long time. I think they've had my manuscript for almost a year.

And to Fuzzy, thanks. That gave me a warm fuz...no, that's too weird.

On top of everything Fuzzy said, which is exactly right, here's some more advice:

1) Always use direct language. You don't "hope" that your skills would be a good fit for their company, you "know" it.

2) Come up with a 30-second commercial about yourself, 4 or 5 sentences long, that tells people who you are and what you do. This makes a perfect first paragraph for a cover letter, but you should also memorize it and use it to network and meet contacts. Include something unique, beyond simple job stuff, that will make you stand out in a person's memory.

3) Check out Jeffe's Dad's book, because that sounds cool. I wish they had something like that for missionaries--they need some serious help when it's time to rejoin the real world, too.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Its a big jump, because both the military and the church take care of almost everything so you can do your job. In the real world you have to be more proactive. You would be surprised how many ex military officers go to interviews dressed like slobs and how they overtalk their command experience. Its a small thing to dress well, but people fail to do it, because they arent required to do it by an outside force.